Many computing devices include an optical navigation device, such as a trackpad, joystick or mouse, which senses movement and gestures of a user. In these devices, light is directed to a light transmitting surface upon which an object, such as one or more fingers, is moved. The finger reflects light to a sensor beneath the surface, which transmits information corresponding to light reflected from the moving finger to a processor. The processor interprets the movement of patterns of transmitted data, in order to determine the corresponding movement of the finger. In this manner, gestures may be communicated from the user to a processor of the computing device.
Accurately sensing reflected light within an optical joystick is a challenge. This challenge is especially true with smaller optical joystick packages placed in handheld electronic apparatus. Oftentimes, the signal quality produced by detection of the reflected light patterns is poor. This poor signal quality results in a poor navigation response to user inputs.